Amyl And The Sniffers: Sniffing Success
If poppers were physical people, they'd be Amy Taylor, Declan Mehrtens, Bryce Wilson and Gus Romer – the riotous four-piece better known as Amyl and the Sniffers. In between selling out shows worldwide, the band squeezed in time to chat Trump's diet, tall poppies and their punchy third album, Cartoon Darkness.
Words by Zara Richards // Image by John Angus Stewart
Image supplied
“We're a lot similar to recreationally taking amyl nitrate,” says Declan Mehrtens when prompted to describe what makes Amyl and the Sniffers brand of Aussie-born punk so potent. “There’s that little wave of euphoria and it’s usually followed by a headache. It’s over quicker than you can even see. And that’s us – we’re a very quick psychedelic experience.”
Helmed by peroxide blonde powerhouse vocalist Amy Taylor, Amyl and the Sniffers have rightfully earned their title of being one of the world’s most hard-to-follow live acts, charged with enough gut and grit that gives punk’s forefathers a run for their reputation.
Global domination is at the fingertips of this firecracker four-piece. The band are currently on a sold-out EU tour that ticks off iconic venues like London's Roundhouse, which follows their summer supporting Foo Fighters on a US stadium tour. Hours before our conversation with drummer Bryce Wilson, bassist Gus Romer and guitarist Declan, Amyl and the Sniffers were revealed as one of the acts playing Coachella 2025. Oh, and the multi-ARIA-award-winning outfit are about to kick off a 43-date world tour to celebrate the October arrival of their critically acclaimed, whip-smart third album, Cartoon Darkness.
See? Global domination is a go.
Amyl and the Sniffers take a wide-angle lens to the world on Cartoon Darkness – a record where life is meaningless and meaningful. The album’s 13 tracks tumble through topics of AI, the climate crisis, body autonomy and the concept of success, asking its listeners to pay attention but embrace the chaos. These subjects are then syphoned through Amyl’s signature trifecta: unpolished punk that hits like a fist to the jaw, pummeling riffs and a wry sense of humour only Aussies can have.
“The band is very much Amy’s voice,” says Bryce. “We obviously share a lot of the same values, morals and outlooks. But we’re all four different people. We have very different ways of looking at it.”
With her trademark take-no-prisoners energy and feminist viewpoint, Amy spits, snarls and cackles her way through the LP’s 33-minute runtime as she pushes you to believe in something bigger. Tall poppy heads are trimmed on tracks like ‘U Should Not Be Doing That’; freedom and fun feel infectious on ‘Tiny Bikini’; and ‘Jerkin'’ is a kick-in-the-teeth reminder to raise a middle finger to the haters.
But no matter how dark and dystopic the world gets – or how uncertain our future seems – Amyl and the Sniffers are ready to pull us through the mess with a glint in their eyes and a cheeky wink on Cartoon Darkness. Strap in. Here’s our conversation with Declan, Bryce and Gus.
Congratulations on Cartoon Darkness! A month on the other side of the record how are you feeling?
Bryce: It’s flown by. It’s been pretty fucking unreal and we’re playing some crazy shows now with the new album. It’s great to have a new set to play each night, we’ve got that little bit of fear that we might fuck up a new song, which is nice to have. We didn’t have that for a while – it keeps it more interesting.
Cartoon Darkness is optimistic but not ignorant. Declan, you wrote a lot of the bones to this record. Was there a particular track where the penny dropped and you could start to see the shape of the album?
Declan: We didn’t really know what Cartoon Darkness was going to look like until very late. ‘Big Dreams’ was something I was working on as a riff when Comfort To Me came out [in 2021], but some songs like ‘It’s Mine’ and ‘Do It Do It’ were written in pre-production just before the album was recorded. But that’s the fun of it really, the whole time you’re working on something and compounding this idea before it has an image.
It’s also your most expansive record, incorporating more new wave and classic rock influences and even edging into ballad territory at times. What made you want to crack Amyl’s sound wide open between Comfort To Me and this new record?
Declan: After Comfort To Me, we weren’t expecting to be touring that album for so long. So when we ended up writing more music, it was years down the track. The idea that whatever songs we put together now we might have to play for a long time, I was like, “Let’s make sure that it’s a little bit diverse and interesting for yourself if you’re going to play these songs every night”.
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Talk to us about ‘Jerkin'’ – it’s a wild way to open the record. Why did you want this to be the first track?
Declan: Mainly because it’s such a kick in the face. We weren’t really sure if it was going to be a single because of the lyrical content. So, when we decided on the track listing, that came into consideration. In the end, it did. But it would’ve been cool if people had put the record on for the first time, dropped the needle and the first thing they hear is “You’re a dumb cunt”.
You recorded the LP at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 on the same board Fleetwood Mac and Nirvana have previous used. How did it feel to become a part of that history?
Bryce: It was pretty strange. There was a bit of imposter syndrome on the first day, walking in, sitting down and picking out bits and pieces from Taylor Hawkins’ collection of drum gear. I was kind of thinking, “What the fuck am I doing here?”. But you shake that off pretty quick. We already had a relationship with Dave Grohl, having played with Foo Fighters before, and he likes us pretty much – [he's] just like another colleague in the office kind of thing.
Calling Dave Grohl a colleague is a world away from making music in your Melbourne sharehouse. But you’ve managed to preserve the Amyl essence…
Declan: Yeah, [we’re] similar to recreationally taking Amyl nitrate. There’s that little wave of euphoria and it’s usually followed by a headache. It’s over quicker than you can even see. And that’s us – we’re a very quick psychedelic experience.
Poppers aside, how did the homegrown punk scene in Melbourne shape your sound and stage presence?
Bryce: Around the time we started the band, Dec, Amy and I were going to lots of little club shows for Drunk Mums, Dumb Punts and Peter Bibby – shit like that. And what I loved about it was the energy that they fucking ripped on stage. I was like, “Fuck yeah, I want to do that. I want to do that shit and get paid for it”. And at the same time, that’s probably affected a lot of our influence, sound-wise, too.
Amy wrestles with Australia’s tall poppy syndrome while also championing how hard you’ve worked throughout Cartoon Darkness. What’s your relationship like with success?
Bryce: We’ve toured so many places and seen how other cultures celebrate their creative people, and it puts Australia in a pretty grim light in comparison, to be honest. We’re in Copenhagen right now, and the attitudes around [music and success] are just so different. You pick that up as you go along on these tours and meet other musicians at festivals when you have a beer with them. It’s like, “Fuck yeah, this is it”. Everyone’s fucking keen for everyone else to get up and headline Coachella or whatever. In my opinion, it snowballs – you pick up a different view of it all.
What about your relationship with the internet?
Declan: I don’t pay attention. I read comments on AFL and cricket posts and I see how stupid people are on those – if they’re fucking stupid about the footy and cricket, they’re going to be stupid about music as well.
It’s also a weird time where everyone is suddenly able to be an expert in whatever field they decide they can Google. I do a good job of shutting it all out. But people shouldn’t know what the fuck Donald Trump’s fucking favourite meal is – that’s just stupid. I mean, I’m sure Gus is intrigued…
Gus: Very, I’ve known for years.
D: That’s why the internet is a great place I guess. What is it?
G: McDonald's. A Big Mac and two Filet-O-Fish. He drinks 12 diet cokes a day.
D: There you go, the leader of the most powerful fucking country, arguably, and this motherfucker’s getting a Filet-O-Fish. That’s fucked up.
Last question! What do you want listeners to take from Cartoon Darkness?
Gus: Fuck the world, it’s burning. Have a good time.
Amyl and the Sniffers play Hindley Street Music Hall on January 16.
